Chapter 221: Chapter 221

The next day at noon, Shen Jianian boarded the flight to Beicheng alone, a decision made after discussion between the two.

With Zhou Ruo alone in the hospital, even though there’s a caregiver present, it’s still not quite ideal; however, not both of them were needed, hence Shen Jianian followed the original plan to Beicheng.

Without Pei Che by her side, Shen Jianian decided not to stay at the Pei family’s villa. Before boarding, she searched for hotels near the Grand Theater on her phone and booked a room with a double bed.

At 2:05 p.m., the plane landed on time at Beicheng Airport.

Shen Jianian brought very few things, only two sets of clothes for change and some travel-sized skincare products, thus saving waiting time for luggage; she left the airport directly and took a taxi to the hotel.

Having only eaten some snacks on the plane, Shen Jianian was a bit hungry after arriving at the hotel. She ordered takeout, and right after she finished bathing, it arrived.

Shen Jianian carried the takeout to the round table by the floor-to-ceiling window when Pei Che called.

"Have you arrived at the hotel?" Pei Che’s clear voice came through; he had calculated the time to make the call as a greeting.

"I’ve just arrived not long ago, having a meal now."

Holding disposable chopsticks in her hand, Shen Jianian glanced out at the scenery through the glass window, feeling a sense of long-missed familiarity even as she faced the dull high-rise buildings, because this city carried memories of her growth.

Pei Che asked, "What are you eating?"

"It’s too hot, so I ordered cold noodles," Shen Jianian said while taking the food tray from the bag. "The owner added plenty of minced beef and shredded cucumber, it seems it won’t taste bad."

Pei Che chuckled lightly.

"Is Aunt feeling better today?" Shen Jianian tilted her head, clamped the phone between her cheek and shoulder, freeing up her hands to open the lid of the food tray, with the aroma wafting forth.

"Much better now, we’ll arrange for a detailed check-up later." Pei Che stayed at the hospital today instead of going to the company, accompanying Zhou Ruo for various examinations.

Hearing the sound of eating noodles, Pei Che prepared to end the call: "Enjoy your meal, I won’t disturb you any longer."

"Alright, contact me if anything arises."

Pei Che paused for a moment, not hanging up immediately, speaking in a clear tone: "Come back early after the concert, I’ll be waiting for you."

Shen Jianian: "Okay."

Pei Che reminded her: "We have an appointment for the 19th to try wedding dresses."

Shen Jianian laughed; she hadn’t forgotten about that: "I’ve noted it down in the memo."

At the same time, a plane headed for Yicheng took off, among its first-class passengers was the head of Junshan.

Over two hours later, the plane landed in Yicheng, with a driver sent by the subsidiary already waiting in the parking lot to pick up Fu Jichen and his assistant to go to Rose Manor.

In the car, Song Fang’s phone rang. Seeing the familiar number, he felt a headache coming on. He pressed the reject button and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

A moment later, the phone rang again.

Afraid of disturbing the resting Fu Jichen, Song Fang quickly pulled out his phone, switched it to vibrate mode, and thereafter, the phone kept buzzing non-stop.

He wanted to turn it to silent mode but worried about missing important business calls, it was truly troublesome.

With such commotion, Fu Jichen couldn’t pretend not to hear it; he lifted his eyelids, cleared his throat, and asked: "What’s the matter?"

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Song Fang turned his head with a bitter smile, his tone quite helpless: "It’s that reporter from Chenyang Daily again, wanting to schedule an exclusive interview with you. Calling me every few days, persistent indeed. I’ve conveyed your intentions to her, but she remains undeterred."

Fu Jichen didn’t express any opinion on this, turning his head to look out the car window.

Song Fang turned back and sat properly, looking at his still-vibrating phone, he sighed silently. Considering that she was in the media, he found it inappropriate to directly blacklist her; offending might not be worthwhile if needing her assistance in the future.

He once again hung up the other party’s call, thought for a while, and edited a text message to send.

"Reporter Lin, our boss is not in Beicheng, he’s on a business trip to Yicheng."

The trip to Yicheng was a last-minute decision; initially, there was a plan to attend Yan Qiusheng’s concert tomorrow night. Last week, Yan Qiusheng had personally delivered tickets to the boss, enclosing them in an envelope, which were sent to the front desk at Junshan Group Headquarters.

For the past three years, the two kept contact not too close yet not too distant, which could be considered friendship.

The reporter quickly sent a message back: "It’s fine, I can go to Yicheng. I only need to take up an hour of Mr. Chen’s time, half an hour if necessary."

Song Fang rubbed his forehead, speechless, and replied: "Mr. Chen himself has no intention of accepting an interview."

Lin did not reply again. Song Fang thought she would know when to retreat and give up. Yet the next afternoon, after accompanying Mr. Chen back to Rose Manor, he saw Lin at the gate.

A woman in her late twenties, sporting neat short hair that just brushed her chin, wearing a white POLO short-sleeve paired with a casual thin blazer with sleeves rolled up to her forearms, deep blue jeans, white wide-ankle leather shoes, carrying a dark brown tote bag, standing under the dense plane trees. Who knows how long she had been waiting, with sweat dampening the fringes of hair by her cheeks, hands clasped around her arms, head slightly lowered.

Upon hearing the car’s approach, Lin looked up and saw a Mercedes, instantly perking up, thinking perhaps her awaited person was inside that car.

The car slowed by the gate, and Lin mustered her courage to step forward, shouting through the window: "Hello, Mr. Fu, I am Lin Shuang, a reporter from Chenyang Daily. I would like to interview you, if I could take a bit of your time, just a few questions."

In the passenger seat, Song Fang was genuinely sweating for her. Not many media dared to approach .

Fu Jichen raised his hand slightly, and the driver stopped the car, lowering the side window.

Lin Shuang’s face lit up with joy. She bent down, her tone becoming increasingly respectful, and said to Fu Jichen, "It won’t take too much of your time. I’ve heard that Junshan has been heavily investing in philanthropic efforts recently, and there’s an upcoming launch for the autonomous driving project at the year’s end. You’ve acquired more than one tech company for this. I’d like to discuss these two aspects with you."

Song Fang was slightly surprised; it seemed she’d done her homework. The decision meeting for the autonomous driving project was just held at the beginning of the month, setting a general direction. Few in the industry knew, let alone outsiders.

The air was silent for a few seconds before Fu Jichen spoke: "Come in and we’ll talk."

Lin Shuang was far from as calm on the inside as she appeared. Her back was drenched in sweat, and her hand gripping the tote handle was quite sweaty too. Hearing this, she was stunned for two seconds, then incredulous, confirming, "You’ve agreed to be interviewed by me?"

Fu Jichen didn’t say yes or no, and the window rolled back up.

The passenger door opened, Song Fang got out, motioned Lin Shuang with his eyes, and whispered, "Don’t freeze; get in the car. It’s a long way to the entrance."

Once Lin Shuang was seated in the passenger seat, Song Fang sat in the back.

The car restarted and slowly drove into Rose Manor. Lin Shuang firmly remembered her purpose for this trip, daring not to slacken even a little, but upon entering the manor, she couldn’t control her eyes from peering out the car window. Initially, she only dared to glimpse out of the corner of her eye, but later, captivated by the manor’s scenery, she turned her head to see a vast stretch of blooming roses, utterly amazed.

It was the first time she’d seen so many roses, "piled as high as mountains" would not be an exaggeration, with a variety of colors and species, leaving one dazzled.

She’d heard early on that Fu Jichen bought an estate in Yicheng, where the luxurious decor was secondary compared to the beautiful roses, especially in spring and summer when they all bloomed, their beauty indescribable in words.

Not many people could witness this sight; those who could at most glimpse through the gate, catching a corner of the view.

The car stopped under the portico, and Lin Shuang reluctantly withdrew her gaze.

In Beicheng, at 6:30 PM, Shen Jianian left the hotel and headed for the grand theater.

A crowd of media reporters was camped at the entrance, setting up their cameras, creating a scene no less than a star-studded red carpet event, with everyone vying to be the first to report.

Shen Jianian queued with other concert-goers for ticket checks, found her seat, and sat down in the fifth row in the middle, a superb spot.

The seat to her left, originally Pei Che’s, couldn’t be attended, so he transferred the ticket online to someone else. Now, a young lady occupied it.

The seat to Shen Jianian’s right was empty, and with the concert about to start, no one had come yet. This update is available on NovelHub(.)net

Given the sold-out situation, an empty seat meant someone who got a ticket couldn’t make it, just like Pei Che.

The auditorium lights dimmed, indicating that the concert was about to begin. Shen Jianian sat upright, having not seen a live performance by Yan Qiusheng in ages, her excitement beyond words.

Finally, the velvet black curtain was drawn aside, and Yan Qiusheng appeared elegantly in a luxurious tailcoat in front of the audience. He sat on a black wooden chair with a cello leaned against him, holding a bow. Beside him was a piano, accompanied by a lady of similar age.

The audience burst into enthusiastic applause.

A few seconds later, the applause gradually subsided. Yan Qiusheng stood up, holding the cello, with no superfluous opening remarks, smiled as he scanned the audience, simply saying thank you for coming to his concert, then calmly sat down, lifted his arm, and placed the bow on the strings.

The cello’s deep sounds, in perfect harmony with the piano accompaniment, resonated through the hall, flowing into every audience member’s heart.

This was true auditory pleasure. Shen Jianian’s excitement calmed amidst the distant, lingering melody, fully absorbing the impact brought to her by the world-class cellist.

Until the concert concluded perfectly, the seat to Shen Jianian’s right remained vacant.

As the curtain fell, Shen Jianian orderly exited with the other attendees, and in the bustling crowd, she glimpsed a familiar face, possibly Bai Changxia. She wasn’t sure, froze for a second, and called out the name: "Xiaxia!"